New UNC coaching update feels like Bubba Cunningham is playing a dangerous game

It’s always a risk when your coaching search is littered with established head coaches at big-time programs. Even if you’re the North Carolina Tar Heels, there’s always the chance that for one reason or another, they decide not to leave. 

TJ Otzelberger has said he’s not leaving Iowa State, Ben McCollum has said the same about Iowa, and now the latest reports are indicating that Dusty May is probably staying put in Ann Arbor. According to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68, that means it is down to Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan, and that feels like Bubba Cunningham is playing a dangerous game. 

Dusty May is ‘unlikely to take the Carolina job’ according to Jeff Goodman

May has Michigan into the Elite Eight as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. He could be cutting down nets and heading to his second Final Four on Sunday. So, while North Carolina may carry a bit more prestige or have more history on the hardwood, May has Michigan positioned to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a national championship. 

The concern is that the same could be said about Tommy Lloyd in Tucson. His Wildcats have rolled to the Elite Eight as the top-seed in the West Region after winning their first-ever Big 12 title, and have nearly the same odds as Michigan of winning a title. How could he possibly leave after that? Lloyd is a career West Coast coach and has positioned Arizona as the college basketball superpower west of the Rocky Mountains. Would he give that up to move 20 minutes down the road from Jon Scheyer and Duke? Maybe, but also maybe not. 

If Lloyd says no, Bubba Cunningham and the UNC brass will likely move on to Billy Donovan, who is still currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and has spent 11 years in the NBA. Donovan is a proven title-winning coach at the college level, but he’s never done it in the modern era. College basketball was a completely different sport when he left in 2015. 

However, if you’re gun-shy about hiring Donovan, you can pivot to who exactly? Mark Byington after two good years at Vanderbilt? Without ever showing interest in Nate Oats or Todd Golden, he’d probably be the best remaining option.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Byington is a good coach and could have success at North Carolina. But when you fire a lifelong Tar Heel like Davis and start your coaching search by calling Brad Stevens, hiring a coach with one NCAA Tournament win on his resume would be disappointing, to say the least. 

UNC will probably end up with a good hire because, after all, it’s UNC. But Cunningham is playing a dangerous game in Chapel Hill, and with the Bill Belichick debacle still actively playing out, the athletic department can’t really afford to swing and miss.